Saturday, December 20, 2014

Two Days, One Night

In “Two Days, One Night,” the writing/directing duo Jean-Pierre
and Luc Dardenne turn the ordinary into the extraordinary and they make it look
effortless. Sandra, (Marion Cotillard) a factory worker at a solar panel
company, has just gotten over a bout of depression and is ready to return to
work. Unfortunately, she finds out that her coworkers have decided to take a
bonus, something that would cause her termination. So, the weekend before she’s
supposed to return she tries to convince her colleagues to change their minds.

If this sounds like a simple premise, it is. Though the
Dardenne brothers tell it with such clarity and authenticity that it doesn’t
need to be any more complex. The picture moves along at a steady pace, never
meandering off track but never in any big hurry to get through everything. The
movie is free of unnecessary fat; each scene has a clear purpose and a clear
end goal. And at ninety-five minutes, the movie is briskly able to bring the
story to a satisfying close without dragging on. Overall, “Two Days, One Night”
one of the best structured and paced movies of 2014.

With a story like this it would be easy to make a one sided
and heavy-handed “working-class-citizen-vs-a-heartless-corporation” movie but the
Dardennes wisely stay objective. This is most clearly illustrated in the
depiction of the co-workers. They aren’t greedy, one-dimensional CEOs but
average, working class people like Sandra who would benefit from the bonus.
Some of them opt to take the bonus, but you can’t necessarily blame them for
it. There are no villains, or even any “heroes” in the picture. Just average
people, all trying to make a living, all with their own issues.

The Dardennes pull all of this off without relying on any
melodrama or cheap sentimentality. No
scene is made more dramatic than it needs to be; no intrusive music swells up
at crucial moment. In fact there isn’t a score at all. In other words, the
Dardennes don’t use any manipulative techniques to get you invested in the
narrative. Instead the brothers employ down to earth, almost Cinema verite
style filmmaking that doesn’t talk down to the audience. Important plot
revelations and character development is done in a casual and organic manner.

As Sandra, Cotillard
convincingly portrays a fragile yet resilient person. A woman who’s already
been through hell and now finds herself fighting to preserve her livelihood.
She needs this job for her livelihood
but at the same time she doesn’t feel comfortable trying to convince people to
choose against their own livelihood. She’s full of pride, something that’s
admirable but sometimes frustrating. You’re on her side but when she pities
herself and starts to sink back into depression you want to yell at her to get
back up and keep fighting. It’s a fantastic performance that, like the rest of
the movie, is sincere without going overboard. Often times Cotillard is able to
convey feelings of panic, worry, anger and sadness through facial expressions,
without saying a word.

In the end, “Two Days, One Night” is an easy movie to enjoy.
It’s optimistic without becoming sappy. It deals with heavy themes but isn’t
very dour. And all of this is done in a simple, unassuming way that feels true
to life.